


Family Gathering

by Measured_Words



Category: Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells
Genre: Babies, Background Relationships, Gen, Jade and Moon's first clutch, Raksuran Consorts, Raksuran Queens, References to Miscarriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 09:58:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13051692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Measured_Words/pseuds/Measured_Words
Summary: After some of Jade and Moon's first clutch are confirmed to be Royal Aeriat, Pearl wants the fledgelings brought to her bower.  Ember thinks Moon should be there too.





	Family Gathering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kiraly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/gifts).



> Thanks to Nary and Muccamukk for betaing!

Things had been uncharacteristically quiet in Indigo Cloud for an entire turn. There had been a few visits to and from other courts – including an awkward but uneventful one accompanying a delegation from Opal Night to check up on Consolation's court – but no threats or disasters. What shocked Moon the most was that he wasn't bored. There was enough to do to keep his interest without involving high levels of constant stress, and it gave him plenty of time to spend with his clutches.

A few days previously, he'd been present at Sapphire's first shifting. The teachers and mentors had already suspected that the clutch was all royal aeriat, but she was the first to be officially declared a queen. Fern had followed her lead shortly afterwards, but Solace was still holding out. The males had shifted also, but the distinctions between warrior and consort fledglings in their groundling forms weren't evident to Moon. Fortunately, Blossom was happy to point them out, and to note the telling darkening of Rain's scales. Cloud refused to sit still long enough to serve as a model, but once Moon knew what to look for, it was clear even to him. Their scales were hardening as well, probably to protect them from themselves and each other as they became even more active. They were well past the point of being content climbing the nearest adult, and had moved on to exploring the nursery and trying to play with the older fledglings.

Moon found this even more harrowing than when they were smaller and more fragile, like his new clutch with Bramble. The little queens especially seemed to have no sense of their own limits. On the one hand, it gave him a little more insight into queens in general. On the other hand, watching them jump and climb all over the nursery vines, he was amazed that enough ever survived to keep the colonies going. 

Moon had just coaxed Cloud down from a too-high perch he'd managed to attain in the few seconds that Needle had turned her back, when he saw that Ember had slipped in and was talking to Bell. Bell was holding Sapphire on his hip. She was in her arbora form, flexing her short spines sporadically. It wasn't too uncommon for Ember to come down to the nurseries, but it was the first time Moon has seen him down here since the queens had shifted. Moon wondered if it was just a regular visit or if there was some more formal protocol to be observed. Everyone had reassured him that there wasn't anything that he needed to do, but he wouldn't be surprised to find out that the rules were different for other consorts, and that the arbora were just shielding him from his own ignorance.

Scooping up Cloud, who snuggled in against his chest with a garbled hiss, Moon sauntered over to meet them. As he approached, Sapphire stretched out her arms, and he tucked her in on his other side.

"Hello Moon," Ember said, greeting him with a smile. "I was just making arrangements with Bell – Pearl would like to have the clutch brought up to her bower for a visit."

"Oh. Okay." He didn't know why Pearl wouldn’t just come down and see them herself. It wasn't uncharacteristic of queens to make visits to the nurseries. Maybe this was the formal part? "What kind of arrangements?"

"We were trying to decide if it was worth giving Solace a little more time to see if she is ready to shift, " Bell answered. 

Moon knew that it would be highly unusual for her not to be a queen as well, but it wasn't impossible. Personally, he suspected Solace was mad that Sapphire beat her to it and got all the attention. "What then?"

"She really just wants to see them," Ember said, trying to sound reassuring, as if he was concerned that Moon might think Pearl wanted to eat them or something.

"She doesn't want to get mobbed by the other fledglings if she comes all the way down here," Bell said, with a hint of exasperation. "But it should be fine. I'm sure we can find a time where they're all rested, full, and clean at the same time…"

"Thank you, I have every confidence. But we can give it a few days, too, for Solace."

Bell nodded. "I'll let you know, then. If you'll excuse me, I need to track down Bone."

Ember waited until he was out of sight, the sighed and turned to Moon, who was trying to keep Sapphire from wriggling out of his grasp to follow after Bell. Ember reached out his arms, and she decided that his attention was sufficient, hopping over to him instead. Ember sat down, so that if she decided to wander off to go play she wouldn't have to leap out of his grasp to do so. "Do you want to be there when they go see her?"

"Does she want anyone there?" Moon suspected not, and that Ember was just asking to be polite. "Jade might want to know."

"I believe she was going to ask Jade herself."

That seemed even more strange, and Moon frowned despite himself. "Is that a queen thing?"

Sapphire turned towards him when he said the word – she'd probably been hearing it a lot, hissed happily, and shifted. She only had one set of frills, and these were small and delicate. They made her look more, rather than less, fragile. Her talons were still sharp, though, and Ember's wince was probably only because she was digging them into the leg of his groundling form.

"It's a Pearl thing," he said, tapping Sapphire on the toes to try and get her to disengage. She squeaked and buried her face into his chest. Moon didn't expect him to elaborate, but Ember continued. "Yours and Jade's clutch are the continuation of her bloodline. That's important to her… but it's also hard."

Moon nodded. They were his first clutch – well, first biological clutch. His bond with the Sky Copper clutch was special, but the trauma that bound them together was different than the stress of trying without success for so long, then watching Jade's pregnancy and worrying about the health and birth of their offspring. His clutch with Bramble had been easier, partly because everything had gone smoothly and quickly, but also because she hadn't been at all willing to put up with him fussing and worrying. But he'd been through enough in his life to have a grasp of the devastating losses Pearl had experienced at the old colony. He knew that just because things were different now didn't mean that old fears and hurts were set aside easily. "I get why she might want to see them, but not in public. But I don't think she'd want me there, either."

"No. I don't think she will. But I think it's important, and I think she will allow it."

Moon just stared at him. Clearly there was some nuance he was missing, but he should really be used to that feeling when he was dealing with Ember. And especially any time they were talking about Pearl. It was like Ember knew a whole other person, and maybe he did.

"This is the first royal clutch born to Indigo Cloud in turns. They're the first daughter queens born in the new colony. Frost getting older is going to change things some – but not like this."

Moon couldn’t help but think about Emerald Twilight, keenly aware that it was Ember's birthcourt. His concern that something like what happened with Tempest and Halcyon could happen with his own clutch lingered. It also struck him that he was used to thinking of Indigo Cloud as a healthy court now, but it was small and still recovering, and would be for a long time. It was hard to keep that in mind with Cloud nestled against him, having fallen asleep after his big excitement earlier.

"Your clutch needs a chance to know Pearl, Moon. And you need to know that you can trust her with them. And she needs to know that too. The closer the ties we build now, the easier it will be moving forward…as the court continues to grow."

It seemed sound, and it sounded very much like an Ember strategy. He found himself nodding until the last words caught up with him. "Wait – are you talking about me and Jade having more clutches? Or you and Pearl? Is she… Does she want a clutch?"

Ember gave him a sharp look, but the only other people around were fledglings that were no more than a turn, so probably they weren't giving the arbora any new gossip. Still, Ember kept his voice down when he replied, resettling Sapphire now that she, too, had fallen asleep.

"I said it was complicated, Moon. I hope that this is the right thing to do, but I'm not really sure. I just want her to be able to think about it clearly…. Not worry that she _needs_ to have one if she isn't ready."

So that was it, then. He didn't want Perl to decide she needed to – what, have a grudge clutch? It did sound like a terrible idea. Bad for her, bad for the colony, bad for the clutch.

Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Ember looked pained. "Pearl doesn't like change at the best of times. She's just…anxious. I have to help her, Moon, she's my queen."

"And I'm first consort…so I have to look out for the court. Right?"

"And Jade."

"And Jade." Of course it would affect her too, and if things did go badly for Pearl… Well. "Is this what normal consorts deal with?"

"Sometimes, I think?" Ember looked thoughtful. "I'm new at this part. I know you think I know everything, because I was raised in a court, but I don't. And this isn't the sort of thing I should ask about outside our court, even with people I trust in my birthcourt." 

Moon found the notion of trusting anyone in Emerald Twilight that much inconceivable, so that was probably for the best. There really wasn't anyone he'd want to ask in Opal Night either. He might feel comfortable talking to Shade, but it didn't seem like a topic he'd have any advice about. "So… we just muddle through and hope for the best, that we can figure out how to rebuild a colony with just the two of us?" He didn't count Stone, not for this sort of thing. He'd been extra cranky lately anyway, when he could be found, and Moon thought he could do with some time away from the court. He'd think this was stupid, and while he might not be wrong, it might, Moon grudgingly admitted, not be helpful to point out.

This time, Ember smiled. "Thorn and Bitter will be old enough to help soon enough – but look at us, Moon. Think of what we can teach the next generations, between us. Look at how strong our queens are. Our arbora are resilient and creative. Our court is small, but we're strong, with powerful allies, beyond the Reaches and beyond just other Raksura. We have so much potential, and your clutch will be the first to benefit from all of that without having to suffer through everything we went through to get here."

It sounded good, and Moon was inclined to feel more optimistic with Cloud and Sapphire sleeping so peacefully nearby. At least a little. "As long as we don't fuck it up."

Ember inclined his head slightly.

"Okay. Let me know when this is happening."

"Thank you."

A few days later, the two met again outside of Pearl's Bower. Jade was already inside, and Bell was just bringing the clutch up from the Nurseries. He had managed to get them all clean, at least, and they seemed active and well rested. Maybe a little more active than would have been preferred, but the excitement of leaving the nurseries for a special trip could account for that. Bell and Bead were each carrying two of the fledglings, but the fifth, Solace, was being carried by Frost.

"I told her she could come up," Bell said looking harried in a way familiar to anyone trying to stop Frost from pushing for more adult responsibilities, "but I didn't promise her anything else." 

"I should be here with all the other queens." She did a pretty good job at sounding insistent and firm without being petulant, holding her spines steady and straight.

Moon and Ember shared a look, but Moon knew it was his call, ultimately. Pearl and Jade would decide when Frost was ready to become a true daughter queen. But Sky Copper was his clutch too, and he thought she deserved to be here for that, if nothing else. "You can come in – but if Pearl or Jade want you to go, no arguments."

She nodded. The teachers handed over the rest of the clutch, and they went in.

Pearl and Jade were seated by the hearth, and both set aside their cups of tea. 

"Alright," said Pearl, "Let's have a look at them." She gave Frost a look as she approached with Solace, but said nothing, so Moon figured that was the right call.

The fledglings seemed happy to be deposited with the older queens, and Cloud was already climbing up on Pearl, which she seemed to tolerate. Fern and Rain settled themselves in Jade's lap with minimal fussing, while Sapphire sat beside Pearl and Solace stayed with Frost.

"The consorts look like Moon," Pearl mused, helping Cloud tuck himself under a fold of her wings. "I suppose Malachite will be pleased. The queens are ours though," she said to Jade, who flicked her spines in assent as she smoothed Rain's black hair away from his face. 

"They're all beautiful," she agreed, and Moon couldn't help but smile. Jade spent less time with them than he did, which seemed to be expected, but she always seemed pleased and proud of them when she did, and she listened to Moon talk about their little developments endlessly without much complaint.

Pearl looked at each of the little queens in turn. "Which one is which?"

"This one is Solace," Frost spoke up, probably running out of patience for sitting quietly. "The one with you is Sapphire, and Jade has Fern." Each of them looked over when they heard their names, and Sapphire hissed and snuggled closer to Pearl.

"Oh good, you've got our little hold out. Bring her here." 

Frost stood up, as Solace didn't seem to want to let go, and then just sat down with her again beside Pearl.

"Your birthqueen did this too, you know." Pearl said to the little queen. "Balm shifted much earlier, but Jade had to feel special...." There was a moment when Moon wasn't sure how this would go – a brief waver of Pearl's spines, a slight shift in her tone. Whatever it was passed as she glanced at Jade, eyes narrowed but her tone wry. "That's how I knew she'd be trouble."

"I think I've done fine for myself," Jade retorted, but Moon though that the affront was a bit forced. When he squeezed her hand, she squeezed back.

"Well let's see about the new generation. What do you think, little one?"

Solace hissed tentatively, squirming away from Frost to stand on her own, and then shifted. She flared her short ruff and flicked all of her stubby little spines dramatically. 

Pearl huffed down at her, as Jade gasped, delighted. Frost managed to look smug, like she'd engineered the whole thing.

"That's what I thought," Pearl said. Sapphire, upset that her sister had stolen her thunder, dived out from beside Pearl and tackled her sister. The others, thinking that the wrestling looked like good fun, piled on quickly. Moon and Ember managed to break things up by separating the little queens, with Frost taking Solace again. It seemed to signal the end of the visit, but Moon felt that it had gone well. He wasn't great at reading Pearl, but he thought she'd been pleased over all. Ember seemed relaxed despite the fidgety fledglings, and Moon hoped that the visit had achieved his aims. The future of Indigo Cloud was looking favourable, and he was feeling pretty okay about their chances of not fucking things up.


End file.
